March 31, 2013

Ideas to Reuse Plastic Eggs

Easter is my favorite holiday. Somehow despite the fact that we don't fill baskets for our children we still ended up with dozens of plastic eggs. I'm certainly not complaining! We had a great time with friends this weekend, and my boys enjoyed participating in two egg hunts. I am not one to throw out supplies. Instead I like to get as much use out of toys as possible, so I searched a few of my favorite blogs for ideas for plastic eggs that aren't related to Easter. While many of these activities were originally done before the holiday, all of them can be done any time of year.

15 Ways to Play and Learn with Plastic Eggs

I threw this sensory bin together for J-Bug (3) last spring, and it is still a sensory experience we love. The only prep time required is hydrating the water beads. Just throw water beads in a bin of water and let them sit for a few hours while they expand. For more information read my Child's Play 101 post about water beads.

I have seen many ideas for letter matching with plastic eggs on various blogs, but this letter match from Mess for Less puts a new twist on the game, making the plastic eggs a puzzle for young learners to assemble.

Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas is the queen of learning through play with plastic eggs. She has so many unique ideas! I especially like the game to learn to tell time. JZ (5) has recently begun learning to tell time to the quarter hour, and I think he would get a kick out of this hands on time exercise!

This bin was originally made before Easter, but the benefits of scooping and pouring rice are applicable all year long. My toddler twins (20 months) loved the sensory play and the challenge of opening and closing the plastic eggs. It was a great fine motor exercise, and I will definitely be bringing out the bin again before next Easter.

The secret message is "Happy Easter", but this could easily be changed to apply to any day of the year! Even a simple, "I love you" or "Have a great day" would make a sweet surprise message for your child and a great way to reuse a plastic egg.

Okay, in all fairness, egg hunts are associated with Easter, but this glowing egg hunt would be fun all year long, especially on a rainy day when you're stuck indoors. Turn the lights off in the bathroom, and surprise your little one with a glowing sensory game!

This is a really wonderful and useful collection of activities. I hope you'll consider sharing it on Look What We Did, a month long link up hosted by HammockTracks. I think it is great to re-use the eggs, and what better way than to do it with learning activities!